Univ. of Michigan head football coach Jim Harbaugh expects Michigan State football players to be charged
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By Amanda Musa, CNN
University of Michigan head football coach Jim Harbaugh told reporters Monday that he believes the Michigan State University football players involved in a post-game fight at Michigan Stadium on Saturday will face criminal charges.
Two Michigan football players, Gemon Green and Ja’Den McBurrows, have injuries from the fight, Harbaugh said.
“There needs to be accountability, there needs to be a full, thorough, timely investigation,” Harbaugh said.
“I can’t imagine this will not result in criminal charges. The videos are bad, and it’s clear what transpired. It seems very open and shut. As they say, watch the tape.
“I’m coming from this from the perspective of being a parent, and these young men are entrusted to me by their families and to our program.
“And we have the responsibility to each player to treat them like our own, and I take that responsibility very seriously.”
Green and his father “have every intention of pressing criminal charges against those persons who are responsible for the vicious assault that occurred in the Michigan football stadium following the Michigan/MSU game,” said Green’s attorney, Tom Mars, in an email to CNN on Monday.
Mars told CNN that Green was hit with fists and a helmet and that he suffered a concussion and cuts to his face.
“When college football players brutally attack a member of the opposing team with their helmets, resulting in the player suffering a concussion and other injuries, an apology won’t suffice,” Mars said. “There has to be severe consequences for this kind of misconduct.”
According to The Athletic, McBurrows still requires medical attention for facial injuries, citing Kerrie Bryan, McBurrows’ mother.
Police for both schools are jointly investigating the scuffle, which took place in a stadium tunnel following Michigan’s win against Michigan State. Multiple videos captured the fight.
Harbaugh told reporters that Green and McBurrows were walking up the tunnel together after the game. “You can see that in the video,” Harbaugh said. “Gemon was punched, and then Ja’Den was trying to help.”
One video posted to Twitter from The Detroit News showed several [Michigan State] Spartan players in an altercation with McBurrows in the tunnel at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor.
A video from ESPN shows another angle of the melee, with footage showing what appears to be a player swinging his helmet.
CNN has inquired with the University of Michigan and school police if there is more video of the incident.
On Sunday, Michigan State head coach Mel Tucker announced four players — Tank Brown, Khary Crump, Angelo Grose and Zion Young — had been suspended indefinitely until the investigation by the schools, law enforcement and the Big Ten Conference is completed. Four additional players — Malcolm Jones, Justin White, Jacoby Windmon and Brandon Wright — were also suspended, the school announced Tuesday. Their suspensions are effective immediately, according to a statement from the school.
All suspensions will remain in place until the investigations are completed, the school said.
“Michigan State University athletics and the football program are committed to the highest level of sportsmanship,” read a Tuesday joint statement from Michigan State vice president and director of athletics Alan Haller and head football coach Mel Tucker. “We are transparently working with law enforcement and the Big Ten Conference to evaluate additional facts and evidence surrounding the events in Ann Arbor. We will continue to take appropriate action in this matter as we learn more.”
The Big Ten declined to comment on the record to CNN.
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